In order to construct a semiconductor device, a plurality of types of materials should be stacked. For example, an insulating film such as an oxide film is formed on a semiconductor substrate, and an electrode such as a copper (Cu) film is stacked on the insulating film. With increase in temperature of the insulating film and the electrode, stress is produced at an interface between the insulating film and the electrode due to a difference in coefficient of linear expansion between the insulating film and the electrode. Load is applied to the insulating film due to the stress, which may break the insulating film. With increase in thickness of the electrode, stress produced at the interface between the insulating film and the electrode increases. Therefore, when the electrode increases in thickness, the insulating film is more likely to be broken by the stress.
For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-185783 (PTL 1) describes a semiconductor device including a thick metal electrode. In this semiconductor device, the metal electrode includes a structure like stairs.